This is Me Deal With It
by Lazy Creativity
Summary: What if there was another side to Naoto? Cold weather leads to a change in perspectives. (Not so good at picking genres but they are relevant. - -lll Romance isn't really emphasized and there is some dark themes. 1st story so please be nice with criticisms. .)
1. What you see is not all that's there

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dogs. I only own the kids. References are made from different shows/movies/mangas too, so I don't own them either. T^T

Please enjoy to the fullest! ;3

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**Chapter 1: What you see is not all that's there.**

Naoto

Badou, Haine, and Naoto were all walking back to the church after their weary mission was over. However, after walking two blocks, it began to rain, really hard. They ran through different routes to either find the church or at least a place to hid under until the rain clears. Unfortunately, there was none and they had no clue where they were, except Naoto. Her apartment was just around the corner at the next block. She debated whether or not to invite them to her home and let them see the side of her that she was trying to hide from them. She made up her mind when a gust of icy wind decided to keep blowing at them. "Dammit! Now I have to ask for some clothes from Mark," Naoto yelled as she ushered them to follow her.

Haine

'This is ironic and she's crazy,' was the first thing Haine thought of when they were face to face with her apartment. The building looked as if it was filled with cement and there were stairs that descend underground to a wooden door. (She's looking for the underground, yet she lives underground. Ironic.) The guys thought she picked the most horrible apartment ever made, but Naoto calmly walked down the stairs as she did everyday. The hallways were filled with large metal plates covering the walls and thick doors without locks. 'They sure have mental problems for not getting locks in this type of city,' Haine thought again. He and Badou were intently observing the complex's halls afraid that the place was not just an awkward apartment but a dangerous one. Naoto opened her door, and Haine was confused for a moment. The minute she touched the door a light turned on in the home. The thought left as soon as it came, for there was a huge doberman laying on the couch staring at them. Haine and Badou couldn't believe what they were seeing. The city was known for its quirky residents but not dogs that reach up to the lower half of someone's torso! "I'll be right back! Just going to get some clothes for you two!" Naoto said jogging down the hall and added, "Nanna! Show them to the bathroom, please." Unexpectedly, the doberman did as it was told not caring who they were and what they wanted. It was as if their katana companion always did this. The two bathrooms were located down a darkened hall facing each other. Not seeing anything else to do and freezing their asses off, they went in.

Naoto

"Mark! I'm going to borrow two sets of clothes from you. Also, I'm going to use your shower!" Naoto tells him. Mark was an experienced sniper for one of the famous mobs in the town. It always amazed her how he never got caught with his stand out appearance: raven black hair with a silver strand in his bangs, deep green eyes, and stood at 6 ft 2 inches in height. His wife was only half that size. Mark yells back, "You got to stop running to my house every time you bring someone to yours! Your hospitality is quite rare in this city and you might live to regret it! Whatever, the clothes are where they always are!" Naoto couldn't help but smile to this man who acted like an elder brother to her, especially when compared to Magato. She quickly takes a bath, grabs the clothes, and kisses him on the cheek with a small 'thank you' as she ran out. Chuckling could be heard before the door could fully close. When Naoto came back, she found the two men sitting on her couch with only their towels as they stared dumbly at Nanna. 'Yes, she's bigger than normal dogs but what's normal in this city? I'm positive we have seen stranger things than Nanna,' she thought already getting irritated. When they finally noticed her, they looked at her seeing someone totally different compared to the women they are use to. Haine appeared to be even more bewildered than Badou for once. She gave them a strict glare and started to cook. 'Since they are going to be staying here for a while, might as well give them something to eat' "You can cook but you can't sew?" Badou asked curiously. He was answered with a wooden spoon thrown at his face.

Haine

'The dog isn't the only thing that's huge here,' was the only thought that came to his mind when he observed Mark's clothes. He was a bit more suspicious of her now then he was when they first met. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw from the corner of his eye Badou fall to the ground. 'That idiot must have said something stupid like he always did.' As she continued cooking, he noticed how different she looked; it was strange. The woman who lived a harsh life and bared her teeth when threatened is now cooking with not one care in the world. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and wore a t-shirt with pajama pants too big for her petty size. It was completely different from the image he was used to seeing. Haine used this chance to observe his surroundings as he went to change. The apartment had two floors and looked like the inside of Howl's castle(1), just cleaner and with a dark warmth that seemed to welcome anyone that would come in. There was even a fire place by the stove. 'Apparently, glaring was a common gesture in this place; even the fire was glaring at her. Wait.' Haine thought as he quickly turned around to stare at the fire. It was in fact glaring at Naoto. Haine suddenly spoke, "Hey. Why is the fire glaring at you?" Badou looked at him as if he was crazy as Naoto froze. No matter how messed up the statement was, the red-head peered questionably at the fireplace. He then flew off the couch with a yelp when it glared back. "Really Calcifer. You couldn't just have stayed still till they at least fell asleep?" Naoto said with 'What an idiot.' written clearly at her face. The men just stared at them; confusion and amazement clearly on their expressions. All of a sudden, the door flew open and an albino, fox girl ran in yelling "Mamma!"; a young boy holding a baby girl followed after. Everyone froze in their places and stared at Naoto. "Mamma?" Badou restates questionaly. She just sighed. This was going to be a long night.

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(1) Howl's Moving Castle. This will be used most of the time.

**Thanks for reading! XD**


	2. Can you see me or is it your memories?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character from Dogs: Bullets & Carnage. T^T**

**I call the beast inside Haine 'it' instead of 'he.' (Monster, dog, beast, etc.)**

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Naoto

Naoto knew this would happen and its consequences, but she was just paying more attention to Haine than what was going on. He looked frozen and distanced right when he heard her child yell mamma. Her attention turned elsewhere after the little girl walked towards her saying, "Are they the two guys at the church ya talk about?" Naoto nodded to her as she gave the child a hug to welcome her. The girl was called Yuki. Along with her outward appearance- long white hair, innocent red eyes, and fox ears and tail- her personality was over-exaggerated. If she wasn't freaked out right now, she would be jumping all over the house yelling how her day went. All of a sudden, laughter can be heard from across the room. It was Badou. Through his fits of laughter, he said, "You? With kids? What are you? Liza?" One needs little imagination to know what happens next: a knife was thrown beside his head. She looked like she was going to throw another one until the eldest son stopped her. His name was Miles, and he had dark brown hair, jade green eyes, and wolf ears & tail. Naoto knew that something was going to change after this encounter, but right now, all that mattered was whether or not she would have to kick Haine out, especially if her children got involved.

Haine

Haine was paralyzed with familiar fear and didn't even twitch at Badou's sudden burst of laughter. When he heard the girl say mamma, it was like he was right back at the laboratory. His dog was barking sinister words in his ears and his kaa-sama's laughter wouldn't get out of his head. He was fading, and he knew something was going to happen if he didn't leave right away. Before he could even force his body to move, Haine felt a small tug on his shirt. He peered down and was met with warm brown doe-like eyes. She was the baby that Miles was holding. She was only two years old and barely reached his knees. Her golden locks were similar to a pack of feathers stacked neatly together. She had a worried expression and some tears were beginning to form, like she knew what was happening to him but didn't know what to do. Haine gently pats her head and gives a smile to show her that he was fine now. She stared at him for a second then smiled back at him. This small child was different; she had this warmth to her that made one temporarily forget his/her hardships and calm down. Like music meant to soothe the soul. When he gazed back at the scene, Naoto was staring at him tensed until she relaxed after a moment. 'So she's the protective type of mother,' Haine thought as he went back to the couch; the young girl following after. "Her name is Melody," he heard Naoto whisper as she went back to cooking. 'Melody, huh? Well it definitely suited her,' he thought as he smiled again.

Naoto

"Aren't ya the guy that mamma says to not go to for help especially when seen runn'in?" said Yuki while peering curiously at Badou. He first turned pale then absolutely red. "Did you seriously tell them that?! You don't...you don't trust me with your kids... T^T" he dramatically cried. "No I don't,"she said with her usual poker face. He kept his dramatic scene up as she gazed back at Haine and froze. Melody was going near him when he was having one of his fits. She immediately went on high alert, ready to rips his arms off if he did any wrong to her. (Yes, Naoto has predatory mother instincts.) She was about to run over to their spot until she saw him pat her daughter's head and even give a small smile. Naoto stayed tensed until he finally looked over at them. He was back to his usual self; she relaxed. She knew that he wouldn't willingly hurt anyone unless he felt threatened or it was a job; she just didn't like the monster in him. Yes, Naoto could see it. It had the reflection of Haine's appearance but in a insane kind of way. She always saw it: it chilling out as it floated around, it making some kind of comment about her, and worst of all, it telling sinister things to Haine when it knew that he was weak. Apparently, Haine only saw it when it wanted to be seen and no one else can see it. She was happy that it didn't notice her this whole time. The situation frustrated her in the beginning, but she got used to it. If it didn't mess with her love ones or become an obstacles to her goals, it was bearable.

Haine

Everyone went back to...normal? Badou was playing with Yuki as Nanna watched, Miles was helping Naoto with the cooking, and Haine was watching the whole thing with Melody sleeping on his chest. He didn't quite understand why he let her sleep there, but he felt this sort of relaxed and protective around her. She kept him calm in this new place but also alert. Suddenly, his dog spoke, "Hey. Hey, Master." Haine tensed immediately. This woke up Melody, and she looked questioningly at him. He didn't want to make her worry, so he told her to go play with Yuki and Badou as he set her on the ground. After some staring, she shuffled to where the two were at. Onced she was distanced, he instinctively glared upwards. It wasn't there, which was weird because it was always above him through its own pride. He looked downwards and saw a glimpse of his dog. It seemed like it was hiding from something, which shouldn't be necessary because no one but him could see it. Their conversation (?) begins roughly like this:

"What the hell do you want?"

"I think that woman can see me."

"Huh?"

"I think that Naoto woman can see and hear me even when you can't."

"What gives you that idea?"

"Have you ever felt her glare in your direction but it is not to you?"

"Bad-"

"When no one is next to you!"

"Yeah. But she is probably glaring at, well, her inner thoughts(?) and happen to be looking at my direction."

"-_-lll I'll prove it! Go to the bathroom!"

"Why the hell would I-?!"

"Just do it!"

Reluctantly, Haine got up to go to the bathroom. His mood getting sour by the minute. Before he could reach the hallway, the dog snickers, "I can't wait to hear these kids scream in fear and pain." Haine was tense again. He was going to glare at the dog until a small butcher knife flew through his beast, past his shoulder, into the wall. Everyone looked instantly towards Haine except for Miles. It made sense since the knife was thrown past his face. "Sorry. I thought I saw Miki's show puppets come in to spy," Naoto said with a nonchalant expression. The kids and Nanna took in the lie because they knew Miki. The guys, however, were in shock. (Mostly the dog because it went straight through his heart, which he was happy that he had a ghost-like structure rather than a physical one.) "See. I told ya she can he'r and see me," it said after being stunned. 'Damn it all! 'Haine thought as he continued down the hall.

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**Yes! Naoto has three children. No, she didn't give birth to them. She found them in an alley one day 3 years ago and BANG, they are adopted. The reason: something just compelled her to do it.  
**

**Background:**

**Miles is 13. He can't speak due to a traumatic experience, but can use his mind to speak. This helps Nill a lot during their transitions. *Wolf high-breed*  
**

** Yuki is 7. She is a burst of energy even when she is sleepy. There are times when she can be serious but that's only when the situation calls for it. *Fox high-breed*  
**

** Melody is 3. She can bring a smile to anyone's face. She's also compassionate and caring to everyone, but is really smart for her age. Her ability is to manipulate others feelings (AKA if a whole room is filled with two conflicting mobs, she's able to calm their emotion so a shot out doesn't occur) and let others see what she sees through touch. *Bird high-breed*  
**

**These three have gone through many experiments in their lives- though not like Haine's experiences- and somehow escaped with their lives when Naoto finds them.  
**

**Enough of my rattling. Thanks so much for reading and Please comment! .**


	3. Now you've seen me, what will you do?

**Chapter 3: Now that you've seen me, what will you do?**

Naoto

Naoto was pissed. She couldn't believe that stupid mutt would say something like that. Now it probably knew that she can see and hear it. 'Shit,'she thought as she was almost finished with the food. Haine didn't go near her kids again out of respect for Naoto, which was good because she was ready to throw a knife at him too. (Yup. She's has predatory instincts.) When the food was finally ready, the kids and Badou went to eat at the table, while her and Haine ate on the couch. Calcifer was still glaring at Naoto but did not talk the whole time, which was a miracle. "Cal, why are ya angry?" Yuki asks between mouthfuls. Badou-being the dork that he is-clearly forgot about the fire and did a double-take. "I'm mad because your mother doesn't seem to understand how much of a pain-in-the-ass it is to stay quiet for more than two hours when guests come!" He slowly yells. He was going to yell some more until Naoto went to Melody and said, "Do you want Haine and Badou to leave in the cold rain?" There was silence. Small sniffling could be heard from the baby girl as she shook her head no. Everyone stared back at Calcifer as he was stunned. "You damn women," he whispered then yelled, "I never should've let you move here!" "Yes, yes, yes. I get it; I get it. Here. Eat this and be merry, Calcifer." she replied back nonchalantly as she gave him a small plate of food. He ate it in mere seconds. After everyone finished eating, Naoto picked up Melody and Yuki to put them to bed. She asked Miles to sleep with the girls' room so that the two guests have somewhere to sleep. He agreed and went to his sisters' room even though he didn't need to sleep at this time. Apparently, he wanted to help Toru and Aki (1) with their move. Nanna stayed on the couch, as she always did, with Haine. (She was quite an old dog.) Naoto went to washing the dishes and a long silence filled the room.

Haine

After many hours of being here, it amazed Haine that Badou hasn't once smoked a cigarette since he's been here. He guessed his partner realized this too, for he began to quickly look for his pack of cigarettes. Before he could even take the pack out his pocket, Naoto says, "Balcony. Upstairs, to the right, and down the hallway." 'Yep, she's a mother.' both thought simultaneously as Badou went up. There was a tense silence in the room. Even Nanna felt uncomfortable and that was rare for the confident breed. Naoto was still washing the dishes when he walked to her. "You need help?" Haine quietly asks. She was surprised at first but then told him to dry the dishes as she washed them. After another long pause, the question finally came out.

"So you can see my monster?"

"Yeah..."

"When did you start seeing it?"

"Since we first met."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"We already don't trust each other. Did you want to know that I can see your dog when you are trying to hide it?"

There was another long pause. No, he wouldn't have wanted to know. Even now he was apprehensive about her, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He thought when knowing that she was a mother and could see his beast that he would run away and never come near again. That doesn't seem to be the case. Now he wants to know a little more about this woman who had a life even when going through the harsh realities of the town and the secrets of the underground. That was the only thing that scared him but even that was small compared to his curiosity. "Oooo, this is turning good." his beast snickers above him. Before Haine could glare up and Naoto could get a knife, Badou yells, "WHAT IN THE FAKE PRIEST IS THIS?!" All of them (Haine, Naoto, the dog, and Nanna) immediately looked at the top of the staircase. Out of nowhere, Naoto started chuckling along with Nanna(?). He kept peering back at them to the staircase questionly. "Balcony. Upstairs, to the right, and down the hallway." she said as she gently nudged him to the stairs. Peering once more at the kitchen, he ran up to the hallway. Haine saw Badou and was going to ask why hell he yelled until he saw it. Lavishing forests of different shades of dark green were pasting them. The scenery was beautiful compared to what they always saw in their days of gray. It was night out but anyone could tell that it was summer especially when all they have known was the winter chill. Also, the home wasn't only huge but was moving. Puffs of steam, the clanking of the metal, and the small crackling noises from the ground could be heard as it walked. (2) They were astounded.

Naoto

Naoto and Nanna ascended the stairs and went to where the guys were at. On seeing them, she started giggling again. They appeared to be like children first seeing a grand castle. She got closer to them and while leaning on the railing said, "Calcifer is actually doing all of this. He's a fire demon that was forced to stay here for eternity, moving the castle wherever the wind directs itself. Technically he is the landlord and all of us just have to give him some food and compliments here and there as payment." Badou wasn't even there when she finished. Once he heard that Calcifer was doing it, he immediately ran down and exclaimed, "Hey, fire! Are you the one actually doing all of this?!" "Who else do you think it is, moron?! And it's Calcifer, not fire!" the fire yells back, still mad at the earlier events. His mood took a turn when Badou cheerfully yelled, "That is so cool! If I ever meet another demon you would beat him by a mile!" The demon stares at the eye patched, red-head for a while until he started smiling. As Badou and Calcifer were conversating, Haine and Naoto were again left alone. The albino was still gawking at the scenery before him. The katana woman was still giggling at his reaction. 'He really seems to be enjoying himself. I wonder what other expressions he could make.' she thought absently. After a few moments, she mentally slapped herself. She knew that thinking these things were not going to help her. Getting Haine to tell her the entrance to the underground will in order to finally find her memories not caring if they are the same ones that will torment her all her life. As Naoto was grimacing to herself, Haine was sneakily watching her. 'There are probably more secrets to her than just her having kids and a moving house.' he thought gazing at the scenery again.

Haine

The atmosphere was tense again. There wasn't even a small glaring contest between them. Nanna just stared at them then barked. Being loud and heavy, the sound startled the two out of their trances. As the albino and women glared at her, the doberman in turn growled back then huffed as she walked away. It was as if Nanna saying 'You two are annoying. Whatever's going on, get over it and don't get me involved.' Naoto and Haine were surprised then laughed to themselves. They really had to be uptight for even the hound of relaxation to reprimand them. After a bit of laughing, everything started to relax. The two began to stare off into the lavishing forests surrounding the home. Haine still had one question though. It has weighed on his mind since he met the kids. He whispers, "You have this great life outside of that disgusting town, so why do you keep searching for memories that will most likely cause you more pain than relief?" Naoto was still gazing at the scenery as she slightly smiled; the pain of many years forming in her eyes. Just by looking at those blue orbs, he could tell. He could tell how even with many years of happiness and harsh realities, there was still a fear placed inside her. "Wouldn't it be better to know what is tormenting you?" she whispers in response. Her head facing the ground, arms tightening around her as she leaned on the railing. At that moment, he saw it. Haine saw how her past still haunted her even when it was gone. She would have great moments of fear even when she'd forgotten about it. It was similar to Lily. Whenever she finished one of her episodes, Lily would look around wondering what had happened and what was done. Terror would form in his sister's eyes as she pondered how she was becoming a monster without even knowing it. Out of nowhere, Haine reached out and patted Naoto's head. It was a surprise to them both, but wasn't stopped. The katana wielder chuckled saying, "You know, you should try comforting yourself more rather than others, you dork." Haine just smirked back. They both decided that it was the best to sleep now, so she showed him to a room and went to bed. There was just one thing that was strange, but neither noticed: how did Naoto know that Haine had the habit to comfort others? The only times it did happen was mostly with his siblings in the underground. So how did she know?

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(1) Stray Dogs by VanRah (I just had to... -3-)

*  manga-and-comics/Stray-Dog/detail-page/789?lang=en

(2) Howl's Moving Castle Reference again :P


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